Officially, Greenland is a part of the Danish Kingdom, but it is operating with a high degree of autonomy. Greenland has its own laws and its own traditions, yet it also shares many cultural customs with Denmark. Approximately 10% of the population in Greenland are Danes, while the majority are Inuits or mixed raced.

Greenland is a whole different experience, and there are no roads connecting the settlements. So you take a boat, fly, or stay where you are. Heading out of the settlements by yourself is both foolish and dangerous. The mountains are beautiful, but treacherous things lurk in those mountains, waiting for you to come by.

Greenland is alien to us, and it’s amazing how many people think it’s like Iceland. Greenland is harsh, brutal and primitive. Once you leave the village you are on your own. No roads connect the different settlements, and the only way to get from one village to another is by plane or boat.

Even a dogsled usually won’t work because the terrain is mountainous and steep: full of glaciers and rugged and impassable fjords and mountains that rise up from the fjords. Greenland isn’t a place to go without planning because it is difficult to travel there. Wherever you go in Greenland, chances are that is where you are going to stay for a while because it is inhospitable.

Actually Greenland is far more primitive, wild, and dangerous. It has a whole different feel to it. Greenland means a wild adventure. They love colorful houses in Greenland. The houses are warm and toasty, as well as colorful. They know about icebergs in Greenland. Many icebergs appear blue because they have been crushed in glacial ice. And dense ice absorbs some colors like red, but reflect other colors, especially blue.

Although Greenland covers a lot of land, it is very sparsely populated. There are just 59,000 inhabitants on the island. But in recent years, Greenland has become a somewhat popular travel destination for tourists who are into nature and adventure. Most main cities and towns are located on the west coast, although there are a few population centers on the east coast as well.

Here are the best cities, towns and places of interest in Greenland.

1. Nuuk

The capital of Greenland is Nuuk, located on the southeastern coast and home to almost a third of the island’s total population. The capital Nuuk is the city with the best infrastructure. It also has lots of beautiful nature around it, so there’s plenty to do. The weather isn’t as cold as many other parts of the country.

And Nuuk even has an increasing amount of cultural attractions. Just look up pictures of the architecture in the city, or read about some of its museums. For all of these reasons, Nuuk is considered one of the best alternative holiday destinations in the world. In Greenlandic terms, most populations centers are known as bygder since they are often too small to be considered cities or even towns. There are over 60 bygder in all of Greenland.

Nuuk is probably the best place to use as your base. There are lots of connections by boat to other settlements.

2. Ilulissat

Another option is staying in Ilulissat. A beautiful place in its own right, and you’ll have to opportunity to visit both Ilimanaq and Oqaatsut rather easily.

3. Ilimanaq

Ilimanaq is a gorgeous small town where you can experience the local nature while staying very comfortably.

4. Tasiilaq

Tasiilaq is every bit as beautiful, but with less comfort and more appealing for travelers who want a more serious adventure.

5. Kulusuk

Then we have Kulusuk, located on the east coast - famously one of the more traditional places in Greenland. It is one of the most visited towns, simply because it is easy to go to Kulusuk from Iceland.

6. Qaqortoq

Greenland has some gorgeous fjords that are different from the Icelandic or Norwegian ones. It’s easy to get lost in Greenland. If you leave a village you better know exactly where you are going and how to get there. The grocery store in Qaqortoq has a surprisingly good selection of practical and tasty foods.

7. Disko Bugt

Located in Greenland, Ice Canyon is eroded by water from melting ice and snow. It looks very beautiful and has a depth of about 150 feet.

8. Northeast Greenland National Park

Northeast Greenland National Park occupies some 972,000 square kilometres, and is therefore bigger than the entire nation of Nigeria. It’s also the world’s northernmost national park, and the second-biggest national subdivision in the world after Nunavut, Canada. Here, you can find a wide variety of seals, cetaceans, birds and land mammals, including an estimated 40% of the world’s musk oxen.

However, its most fascinating inhabitant is the Greenland wolf, a subspecies of gray wolf. There are only about 200 of them left (most of them in this park). However, if we look at protected reserves as a whole, rather than just national parks which have a rather specific and often irrelevant definition, there are several places which outsize Northeast Greenland.

If you want to visit just one place in Greenland, go ahead and prepare the trip by yourself. But if you want a longer trip that covers several destinations there, it is highly advised to book through a travel agency where you can travel with a group of other people. It makes everything easier, and it also helps when it comes to making safety precautions.